Stay the Course: Authentic Christians Make Disciples

0:36And I say to myself, I say to the Lord, I don't do this. I don't, I got a long way to go. So, how does a guy like me stand in the pulpit and preach in a passage like this when I haven't arrived either? But that's who we are, right? We let God's word apply itself to our lives, and we say, God, I'm going to fix this, and I'm going to be a light to the world because you asked me to do just that. So, turning your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28.

1:06Matthew chapter 28, we're going to look at verses 16 through 20 in a moment. The title of the message is Authentic Christians Make Disciples. That's the message that Matthew has for us out of that text today. As you can see in the screen, on the slide on the screen, we're working through a series on shepherding and discipleship. We're asking the Lord to show us how do we. Shepherd this flock here at Emmanuel, but more importantly, how do we, or just as importantly, how do we look for ways to disciple others, to teach others God's word? Because today's text is a command, and the command is this, make disciples. But how do we do that? Well, that's why we're here. And this is the second of many messages we're looking at. Next week, we'll come back and we'll look at another passage. Then we'll have Praise Sunday, and we'll come back for a couple of more. And at the end of it, I'm going to ask you to make some commitments. And I'm not going to tell you exactly what those are yet because I really just want to build up to it. I want us to really have a good sense for what Scripture says about discipleship. So as I think about Matthew 28, I think about the reason it's there. And I go back through human history and I think to myself that at the moment when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they were alienated from God. That sin separated them from God. And the Bible tells us that you and I were just as guilty. We inherited that sin. We are human beings like they are, and we have inherited their sin. And let's face it, we need to be reconciled with God.

2:37At that same moment in time, God began a plan to reconcile man and woman to himself in a loving relationship. The plan was set in motion. God told the people to multiply, to fill the earth, to go out into the world, and to fill the earth abundantly. He chose one man, a man named Adam. Excuse me, Abraham. And from Abraham, through his family, all the nations of the earth, all the ethnic families and clans and groups and nations would be blessed from that one man's nation. From Abraham, God made an ethnic people called the Jews. We call them Israel. And their mission, according to God, was to be a blessing to every nation, every tribe, every group, every ethnic kind of people, from the smallest to the greatest of them. And when that Jewish nation failed to represent God to the nations, the second member of the Trinity, the Son, the Father's Son, came and reconciled those nations through his death on the cross. John 1:1 through 14 is so clear that in the beginning was the word.

3:56In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And in verse 14, it tells us, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. What does that have to do with Matthew, you say? Well, Jesus, he paid the price that you and I couldn't pay, that nobody could ever pay. He was the only one. His death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead meant that those who believe that message and they repent based on that message of their sins. They're reconciled to God. That's the good news. That is the gospel. But faith comes by hearing, doesn't it? And hearing comes by the word of God. And how will they hear unless somebody is sent? How will they know unless a preacher is sent out to tell them? How will they know unless you say something?

4:51So I ask you the same questions that we started with last week. What if somebody comes to you privately and says to you, Hey, I need help. Would you disciple me? I don't understand this. I don't know what I'm reading. What are you going to tell them? I'm convicted because I haven't done a good job of this, you see, and I'm a pastor. What do you say to them? How do you do it? Is there a plan? Is there a way we can do this? Can we make it easy or as easy as possible? It's probably not really easy, but yes, there is a plan. There is a plan. And here it is. Glance down at your Bibles, and we're going to start with me in verse 16 of Matthew 28. Here's the plan.

5:37But the 11 disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

6:13That's how it's done. That's God's plan. He set it in motion. We could close our Bibles, turn out the lights, and go home. Let's not do that. Let's really get a greater understanding of what's going on. Let me see if I could just summarize this just into a little bit of a bite-sized nugget. What are we looking at here today? You see, Christians at Emmanuel Baptist Church will demonstrate their submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by making disciples.

6:48If our number one reason for God keeping us here on earth was worship, he could take us home where there's perfect worship. If our number one reason for being here was to get to know him a little bit better through the scriptures, well, he could take us home and we'd know him perfectly. He left us here for a reason, and that's to make disciples. That's his purpose. There's three characteristics of authentic Christians that we can see even at Emmanuel Baptist Church. And this is what we're going to cover tonight, just so I'm very clear and you can take notes and kind of have a roadmap for where we're headed. But there's three characteristics of authentic Christians. Christians at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Authentic Christians at EBC are available to Jesus. Authentic Christians at EBC make disciples. And third, authentic Christians at EBC, they trust Jesus' promises. Let's just break these down one by one. Authentic Christians are available to Jesus. Now, I've looked at the text here and I've come up with what I can see. There's two specific ways. Of course, if you go throughout the 66 books of the Bible, you can see a whole lot more. But in this text, here's what Matthew's communicating to us here in the year 2016 in Bryan, Texas. He wants us to know that there's two ways to be available to Jesus. Number one, authentic Christians follow Jesus' instructions. They follow his instructions. And secondly, authentic Christians worship Jesus. And you know what? Even some of them, they doubt or they hesitate. And that's not a bad thing. And we'll say why that is in a moment. Don't get your mind on the double-minded man from Psalm 119 this morning. This is a different language. This is the Greek language. It's not the same, and I'll get into that in a moment. In Matthew 28, we can see that through the eyes of two women, both by the name of Mary, we see that Jesus' grave is empty. His tomb is empty, and the angel is found sitting on top of the stone that was rolled away from that tomb in verse 2. These faithful women, they look for Jesus, his crucified body. They're trying to find him. But the angel, he told them he's not here.

9:14But that he did what he said he was going to do. What did he say he was going to do? He was going to rise from the dead. And he did that. He's not here. In verse 7, the angel relays a message from Jesus. It's the same message he gave to the disciples the night before he was crucified. If you want to take note of it, it's Matthew chapter 26, verse 32. And here's what he said in that section of Scripture: It's the night before he's crucified. Here's what he tells his disciples, quote, it's Jesus speaking, but after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. Isn't that something? Jesus says, I'm going to be deceased, and then I'm going to meet you in Galilee. Well, wait a minute, how's that happen?

9:56They expected to see him there because he said, you will see me there. That was before his brutal crucifixion and all the beatings that happened before that. After I'm dead, I'll see you in Galilee. Yeah, right. So, in Matthew 28, 10, Jesus also tells these women, Mary and Mary, to instruct the others to see him in Galilee. He repeats himself. He tells the women to tell them, I'll see you there, just like I said. And then in verse 16, we notice that these authentic believers, what did they do? They obediently went there. They went to Galilee before he was crucified. The disciples should have anticipated this rendezvous with Jesus in Galilee. He told them he'd go ahead of them, and he kept his word. He's telling the women, I'm going to see him there. Make sure you spread the word. See him there. That's a pretty simple task, isn't it? Jesus says, I want you to leave this place, and I want you to go to that place.

10:57One who submits to the Lordship of Christ fulfills his orders. They carry out his orders because he's their Lord. He had a commanding voice, and I'm reading this text, and it reminded me of my own dad, who had a very commanding voice. When he lowered his voice at me, I knew immediately exactly what to do. Many of you identify with that, I'm sure. But my father, he needed a commanding voice. He was an undercover narcotics detective in Los Angeles. And he tells me about a time where accidentally he stumbled across a PCP lab, and my mother was with him by chance. They didn't anticipate going there. It just kind of happened, and he recognized what was going on. He always carries his gun with him, as a good officer does. So he runs up to the door or figures it out, and he reaches for his gun as he bursts the door open and yells out loudly everybody to the other side of the room. There's like five guys in there, big guys. He reaches for his gun, and it's not there.

12:00That's not my father. He's always prepared. I always felt safe in my household. But his voice was so commanding, they jumped up from where they were. So my mom tells me the story, she confers, and they were up on the other wall with their hands up, backs to my father. Didn't know what he had in his hand, but he had no gun. And they were arrested. And his backup showed up. He called them ahead of time. Mistakes happened, but he had that voice. This is Jesus' commanding voice, and they were listening to him. They wanted to hear what he had to say, and so they obeyed. Authentic Christians at EBC demonstrate their availability to Christ by listening to what he says, and they carry out his orders.

12:42I've been in ministry now for 32 years. 32. And I was taught early on in my pastoral ministry to keep an eye out for, excuse me, I'll explain myself here in a minute. I was shocked when I heard this, so you're going to be shocked too. To keep my eye out for fat people. Faithful, available, and teachable. You'll never forget that because I still have it. There's a lot of things I've forgotten since my 20s, but I have not forgotten that. Keep your eye out for faithful, available, teachable, because they will be those who listen to Christ. They'll be available to teach and to lead and to guide. And I think that's good advice. That's what discipleship and leadership and church is all about: being faithful, available, and teachable. Now, for the second way. That authentic Christians can demonstrate their availability to Jesus, and that's by worshiping him. You can see it, that some of these authentic Christians, they worshiped Jesus. Notice what authentic Christians do in verse 17. When they saw him, they worshiped him. The fact that they saw Jesus points back to the promise that he made back in verse 10. Do you see the promise in verse 10? Go to Galilee, and they will see me there. They saw him. And many of them worshiped him and had been very close to Jesus for three years. Remember the last time we saw Jesus worshiping him? I read in my study, and I didn't have time to confirm this, but I believe there's only two times in the New Testament where the disciples, it actually says the disciples worshiped Jesus. I need to check my facts on this, but I think this is accurate. One of them was in John chapter 6. We saw it just a few weeks ago when Jesus was walking on the water and he saved them and they worshiped him. They're worshiping him again post-resurrection right here.

14:34They'd been with him for three years all along, and think about from their perspective, they'd seen his arrest. They'd seen the beatings, the sham, illegal trial of Jesus, the mockings, the sound of hammers beating through his flesh into the wood, the crucifixion and a spear through his side. All these are still fresh memories, right? It hadn't been. Too much many days before this event that they'd seen all that. They admitted that he alone had the words of life in John 6:68, but that message was confusing because he'd been laid in a tomb.

15:17He was tortured, and they, out of despair, they went fishing. You see, death happens, but life goes on for the living. They're playing this through their minds, and they're seeing Jesus. Some of them worship him, and some of them they're hesitating. We're no different today, are we? Anybody who likes sports likes to see the replay. Did that football really cross the line? I need to see this again. Play it back. And we'll watch it five times and we'll argue with one another. Did it really cross the line? We like to see replays. Well, they didn't get to see a replay.

15:57We hesitate. We need to see it again. So they see the resurrected Christ in verse 17, and they're prostrate before them. But you know what? Not all of them are worshiping him. Matthew points out that some of them doubted. That is to say, the same thing that there's another way you could translate the word. It means some of them were hesitant. Think about it. They'd seen the torture. They'd seen the beatings. They'd seen the crucifixion. They saw the thorn on his head. And they knew that he was buried for three days.

16:30It's not like, you know, just a simple resurrection. Maybe he fell asleep and he just rose up again. They were hesitant. They were confused. You see, their memories of his violent death were in their minds. Their eyes saw this barbaric death, but their brains were begging them to see something different. So they hesitated. Hesitating is not the same as denying or rejecting the resurrection. They were just confused. Notice Jesus doesn't doubt their faith like he doubted the faith of the false disciples in John chapter 2, verses 23 and 24, and of Nicodemus, who was amongst those. They knew some Jesus facts perfectly enough, but they didn't embrace Christ. In verse 18, Jesus came to both groups, the worshipers and the doubters, and he encourages their worship and he overcomes their fears and their doubts and their hesitation. These worshipers and the doubters were both genuine believers, disciples of Christ, as is evidenced by the second characteristic of an authentic Christian. You see, Jesus entrusted them, even the hesitators, even the hesitators, to make disciples.

17:43So, for the second characteristic of Christians, even here at EBC, authentic Christians at EBC, they make disciples. They make disciples. Let's just ask a question: what is required to make a disciple? Well, we need to take advantage of our location. Glance down at verse 19. You see that word go? Take advantage of your location. You see, mission agencies and church sending committees for hundreds of years use that word go to convince people to move to the other side of the world, to convince the pagans to make a decision for Christ or ask Jesus into their heart, etc. Moving to the other side of the world may be what God wants you to do, but the word go in verse 19, the way it reads, assumes you've already gone.

18:39You could read it having gone or since you have gone. Look at it this way. As you are going about your day, here's the command, make disciples. The great commission isn't found in the word go. The great commission is found in the word make disciples. And it's imperative. Be sure you are making disciples. That's your job. Making disciples fulfills the great commission, not the going. You are going right now if you're a believer. You walk out of this building, you are going. You're going somewhere. So the word go is the same word. I found this interesting this morning that Herod used of the Magi when he said to go, look for Jesus, search for the child. And it was a, as you're going. Search for him. That's the command. Search for the child. You see, you wanted to kill Jesus. The idea is this: in your normal course of your daily walk, Magi, search carefully for the child. And for us, how does it apply to us? In your daily, normal manner of going about your life as you are going, make disciples. Or having gone, make disciples.

19:56Just as a sidebar, how is a disciple made? Maybe that's a good question we should ask here. How is a disciple made? Well, you can see on the screen there, someone going about their normal course of life, that's available, isn't it? They're on their daily life, whatever it is, taught or teaches, that's faithful. They explain the gospel to another who responds to their sin with repentance. They embrace Christ as their Lord, their Savior. That's teachable. That's faithful, available, and teachable. And it's the disciple Ur who's teachable, and it's the disciple E who's being taught. They're teachable.

20:37A disciple is made. A disciple is made when a new believer demonstrates his trust in Christ by public baptism. He doesn't say here or indicate here that baptism saves you. Baptism is simply an outward profession of an inward change. And so if you're a believer, you claim Christ today and you haven't been baptized, you haven't been baptized. Baptized, you're walking in disobedience to your Lord. Let's fire up the waters tonight. No, I'm just kidding. Next week, you know, sometime we've got to get this going. So, a disciple is one who's baptized. Third, a disciple is one who's taught to observe everything that Jesus said. You say, that's a lot of study. You're right. That's a lifetime. That's a lifetime. That's what a disciple is. It's a lifetime event. That's in verse 20.

21:30Let me ask you three questions to ponder again. Am I making disciples in the ministry to which I go? Are the disciples I'm making in the ministry to which I go, are they being baptized? Are they being taught? Am I teaching them? Number two, do I really know that I'm making disciples in my ministry? Or am I just busy? Is it just, I'm busy and I'm doing a lot of stuff and don't bother me, I can't make disciples. I'm busy. Right? We're all in ministry. We're all working for the Lord. But to what outcomes do you point to demonstrate that the Lord and to the Lord and to others that I am making disciples? I'm convicted here.

22:16I'm pointing to myself as much as you may be convicted. I'm convicted. These are questions we need to be asking about our daily activities. Are what we're doing in line with what Jesus taught us? Tells us to do his great command. Well, back to the requirements. What is required to make a disciple? Well, there's a dependence on Jesus' authority, isn't there? I mean, he's the one who says he has the authority. So the second requirement is dependence on Jesus' authority. Jesus is addressing these worshipers, right? He's addressing these doubters in verse 17. And if you look at verse 18, what does he say? He says, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. He didn't say some. All. All authority has been given to me on heaven and earth. And in verse 19, you see the word therefore.

23:15Therefore, the word therefore gives us two reasons to make disciples. Do you know what they are? It's right there in your text. I'll put it on the screen. No, I won't. I won't. I'll just tell you. Two reasons. Because Jesus has all authority. Well, that's enough reason to make disciples. And two, out of his sovereignty, he requires Christians to humbly submit to his will by making disciples. That's why the word therefore is there. Because Jesus has all authority, he said for us to do it. And out of his sovereignty, he requires Christians to humbly submit by making disciples. Faithful disciples know Jesus' authority because he exercises his power. Like in we looked at John 6 not too long ago, right? Just a few weeks ago. He exercised his power. He saw at least 20,000 people coming towards him. He had compassion on them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He fed 20,000 people through the hands of the disciples. The bread was created. The fish was created. He has power. They saw those things. He walked on water.

24:20John 10. Jesus says, I have authority to lay down my life, and I have authority to raise it up again. That's authority. He has authority to tell us to make disciples. Those of us who empathize with the doubters and the hesitators in verse 17 are encouraged to take great confidence in Jesus' authority to empower us to fulfill his command and make disciples. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ today, he's given you the authority to fulfill his command.

24:55Incidentally, if you haven't picked up on it yet, the only verb in this whole thing that is our key point, the only action required in verses 16 through 20 is make disciples. That's it. Going, baptizing, and teaching, I'll tell you how to make a disciple. In other words, disciples are made as believers go about their lives baptizing and teaching. That's what it comes down to. Again, we could close this, walk out the door now, we'd be done. But we're not.

25:31This is what I loved about my life as a corporate worker, corporate executive years ago. In the normal, we'll learn from this, in the normal daily course of life, people come to me, they come to you and they say, How was your weekend? What did you do yesterday? It's a Monday, right? So, Sunday, what'd you do yesterday? Well, I went to church. They've invited you into an engaging conversation about Christ. It's time to say what you did with passion. I went to church. You know what I learned in church? I learned about the substitutionary atonement. Let me tell you what that is.

26:08You want to break it down for them a little bit, right? I went to church and I discipled some young boys or some young girls and I helped a family overcome some issues that they were facing. I put my arms around them and loved them and cared for them. How was your Sunday? I was specially privileged. I was in corporate America and my degree was in the Bible. People would ask me, why don't you go to school? What's your degree in? Well, it's in Bible. What are you doing here? Well, let me tell you what I'm doing here. You've been invited. You've been engaged in a conversation. Jesus said, make disciples. Here you go. You've been invited into a conversation. Answer the questions. You live in a neighborhood. Tell me why you take care of your house so well. It's because I want my neighbors to feel that we live in a neighborhood that they can be comfortable in. Let me tell you why I take care of it so well because I love God or whatever. Fill in the blank. Be open to. Communicating your trust in Christ, carpe diem, seize the day, be available. The third requirement for making disciples: this is it. Know the size and scope of your ministry. Do you see the size and scope of Jesus' command here in the text? It's pretty broad, isn't it? Just what is the size and scope of this target audience? You can see the answer right there in verse 19, can't you? Glance down on it. What does it say? What is the size and scope of your ministry? Make disciples of all what?

27:36Unless I read my New Testament incorrectly, I don't think that Jesus in his public ministry left the nation of Israel, right? Is he telling me to do something that he couldn't do? Is Jesus asking me to hop on a plane and go see every tribe, tongue, nation, and neighborhood throughout the entire world? Is that what I read in this text? You're right. No one is expected to go to every single people group. Ethnos is the Greek word from which we get ethnicity.

28:07And to make disciples, Jesus, during his earthly ministry, he didn't go to every country, right? He stayed right where he was. So then, how did Jesus reach the world? How did he reach the world without leaving that little postage stamp on the world? He ate one bite at a time, just like the elephant. He spent his life teaching the three closest people to him. Three closest people, Peter. James and John. And then he spent time with the remaining group up to 12. And then he broadened his influence out to the remaining disciples who subsequently entrusted Jesus' word to still more, such that we in Bryan College Station 2,000 years later are worshiping the same Jesus that they worshiped back then on that day.

28:561, 2, 3, 12. Can you imagine how many disciples we at EBC could make if each one of us were to spend just a little bit of time with one or two people per year, and they subsequently spent some time with one or two people a year? And after a year, you know how many people we'd reach? Hundreds, way more than we have in this congregation, I should say. Keep coming back on these Sunday nights. We're going to unveil how we're going to do this. It's exciting, I promise. I'm keeping you from all the details for a reason. I want you to understand God's passion for the world before we start talking about some other program. If we look at discipleship making as a program, we better close the doors.

29:48Well, there's a fourth requirement to making disciples, and it involves baptizing them and teaching them. Baptizing and teaching are, like I said earlier, Like that word going. The great commission is to make disciples as you are going. As disciples are made, they're baptized and taught. You should know that baptizing and teaching are present tense participles. I'm sorry, but let me just say all that. That's a fancy way of saying that we at Emmanuel Baptist Church are required to go about or be about baptizing and teaching until the end of the age.

30:26That's longer than the rest of our lives. When a person trusts in Christ and he believes in Jesus' death on the cross that paid for that sin and he repents of that sin, he is immediately saved and must be baptized in the name of. Look at the text. In the name of who? Verse 19. In the name singular. This is one of the greatest passages on the doctrine of the Trinity in the entire Bible. In the name of singular, who? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, to tell the world that he is dead to sin and alive to Christ. Baptized in the name of the Trinity. That's why we say that repentance and faith precede baptism. Repentance and faith come before baptism. Baptism preceding faith is just getting wet, it doesn't do anything, it doesn't mean anything.

31:27Baptism, therefore, is an outward public process. Profession of an inward change. As such, a new disciple will continue learning for the rest of his or her life. This isn't a one and done. This isn't attend church Sunday morning, maybe Sunday night, go to a little Bible study here and there, have a quiet time. This is every day for the rest of our lives. That's counting the cost. That's taking up your cross daily. As such, a new disciple will continue learning. Learning what? Learning to observe all that I've said to you, all I've commanded you, and I am with you always to the end of the age. We make more disciples. Paul or people, I have to say this: people come to me all the time and they say, Pastor, my son got saved when he was five years old.

32:20But now he's a wreck. His life is a complete denial of Christ. He never attends church, but I'm convinced he's going to heaven because Christians can't lose their salvation. Look, Jesus, or asking Jesus into your heart never got anyone to heaven. He says, teach them to observe all I've commanded you. Making a decision for Christ is not a complete biblical concept. True discipleship is much more than deciding one day, oh, I'll follow Christ. Knowing a bunch of Jesus facts and God-trivia. Like those in John 2, 23 and 24 is critical. That's important. We need to know those things, but even this does not make an authentic disciple having our brains filled with a bunch of stuff. Believe me, I went to seminary. There was a lot of guys there that knew their Bibles far better than I did.

33:17But they come out, some come out never knowing Christ. The truth learned must compel us to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and to love who is ourselves? Our neighbors. If we love our neighbors as ourselves, we're going to be teaching them God's word. The truth learned must compel us this way. Would you come along with me to John 14? Would you just turn in your Bibles over there? And as you're turning, as you're flipping pages, just the question: what is an authentic Christian anyway?

33:53Jesus, as you're turning pages again in John 8:31, he describes an authentic Christian. In John 8:31, he says, If you continue in my word, then you're disciples of mine. Not because you one day asked Jesus into your heart, but if you continue in my word. Now, watch this. You're at John 14 by now. I want you to notice what Jesus says here in verse 23. Verse 23, Jesus answered and said to him, Here it is, if anyone loves me, he will what?

34:27Keep my word. And my father. Will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him. The Father and the Son will reside in you as you keep his what? His word. Thank you. Jesus continues in verse 24, he who does not love me does not keep my words. John 8:31, if you continue in my word, then you're truly disciples of mine. The indication is, or the implication is, if you don't continue in my words, you're probably never saved. Perhaps.

35:11Verse 25, these things I have spoken to you while abiding with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. That's a promise. That's a commitment from God himself. Those who love God, they keep his word. And the Father loves them. And the Father and the Son will reside in them, will live in them. When the Father and the Son lives in you, then even when you hesitate like those in John and Matthew 28, or doubt like those in verse 17, you can trust God's promises. Well, this is a perfect transition to the third characteristics of authentic Christianity. Christians at Emmanuel, they trust Jesus' promises because that's what we see the disciples doing here 2,000 years ago. Authentic Christians trust Jesus' promises. And I would say that this, as I told you, I view my study for preparation for a sermon as a quiet time. This is encouraging to me. This was an aha moment. Remember, in verse 17, it tells us that Jesus was also talking to those hesitators, to those doubters. Many of them were eyewitnesses to his death, right?

36:36Not just any death, a brutal death. Now his resurrection, they're scratching their heads in amazement. Their minds tell them that Jesus is dead, but their eyes tell them he's alive. And they're like, they're hesitating. What? Does this resonate with you? Do you identify with this? Do you need to see a replay, a sports clip, a replay, perhaps? Do you ever have hesitations as to whether or not Jesus really escaped from the dead after being dead for three days? Escaped from the grave for being dead for three days? Does your hesitation maybe cause you to conclude that making disciples isn't all that important after all?

37:22It's interesting. Jesus is just as empathetic with you and I today as he was with them. 2,000 years ago, I want you to see something here. If you're using the New American Standard or the King James Version in verse 20, we read these words, teaching them to observe all that I command you, and lo, I'm with you always. What's low? We don't talk like that anymore. What is that? What is low? What does it mean? Here's what Jesus literally is saying to you who find yourself hesitating or doubting through that word low. And I can see him as you look at the text and you see the word doubters in verse 17. Glance back down at the word low. And here's what I think is going on. He's looking at the doubters and he's pointing to them. And the word low means look.

38:21It simply means look. And then he says something that is astounding in the Greek language and he repeats it twice. He says, look, I am with you. Not just I'm with you. I, I am with you each and every day. As you doubt, as you have maybe hesitancies, this is not doubting salvation. It's not doubting that Jesus rose from the dead. It's scratching your head and going, I've never seen this before. Even as you hesitate, he promises. To be with you every day, he's prodding you on.

39:06Let me give you a word picture. We have friends with an adult daughter now who she's had Down syndrome all her life, obviously. But as a teenager, we've seen many pictures of them cheering her on as she runs in the Special Olympics. They're on the sidelines, and each and every day, they are cheering her on, whether or not she's running in a race or doing whatever. They're there with her each and every day, even into her adult years. They care for her. She knows they love her. She knows that they will never leave her or forsake her. They'll never leave her side. Jesus is telling these disciples, and I can just see them, I can just see Jesus pointing to them. It's I. I'm with you each and every day, every step of the way.

39:57But for how long? In verse 20, how long is he with them? Each and every day, yes, but how long? Well, it's there in the text. Until the end of the age. Until the end of the age. Jesus is in the disciple-making business, not just each and every day, but he's in it for the long haul. He's there to encourage us for the long haul, to cheer us on. And as we continue in our journey over the next several weeks through this study on shepherding and discipleship, I want to encourage you to ask the Lord. Lord, to open your eyes just a little bit more and your heart to reaching out to just one more person with the gospel of Christ. It's his command, and it's our duty to listen. Examine your walk with Christ. Ask yourselves: in what way am I fat?

40:48In all sincerity, in all seriousness, in what way am I faithful, available, and teachable? Well, as I mentioned, we're going to roll out a complete plan. And we're going to talk about how to do this one-on-one and how you can have great courage and knowing that what you have as a tool to walk people through this will be an encouragement to you. This plan will challenge you to be teachable. Some will say, Well, I've gone through all kinds of plans in my life, and you know what? What I have is just good enough. I'm asking you to be teachable. I'm asking you to be faithful. I'm asking you to be available.

41:38You see, we as a body need to be thinking about the next generation. Psalm 118:102: These things have been written for the generation to come so that they may praise the Lord. Are you ready to prepare the next generation? Come back next week. Let's develop this a little bit more to have a passion about it. About this. I don't want to develop a program without developing a heart and a, Eric, stop leading me on. Tell me what it is. Okay, I want that. I want that anticipation. The plan that's coming out is highly intentional and very user-friendly, I promise you. Here's what we've learned today: Christians, us, we who are believers in Christ at Emmanuel Baptist Church, must demonstrate our submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by doing his last command: make disciples.

42:32This is what he's called us to do: to be available, to make disciples, and to trust his promises. That's it. Why don't I close in a word of prayer? And maybe I'm just going to take a few extra moments of time where you can just do business with the Lord on your own after I pray for a moment. Just ask the Lord, Lord, what are you doing here? What do you want me to do? Am I faithful? Am I available? Am I teachable? Father, Lord, I'm so grateful for this text this week. I'm thankful for the extended quiet time that you have so graciously blessed me with. And I pray that in some way that these dear brothers and sisters of mine are encouraged by the same text and the same message that you have convicted me over, Father.

43:28Lord, what is it that? You would have us to do. You gave us a command here. How do we do it? Lord, I'm scared, we might say. I'm hesitating, and you are looking at us and you're saying, Look, I'm with you each and every day for the end of the age of disciple-making. Lord, how can I be a faithful and available servant to you for your glory and teachable, Lord? Father, this is a daunting task. You've asked us to reach the ethnicities of the world, and we, like you, can't go as Jesus couldn't go to every nation. He couldn't go to every geography on the map. But, Lord, carefully selected his three. He carefully selected the remaining apostles. One left him, and others took his place.

44:30And, Lord, because of their faithfulness, because our brothers and sisters in Christ that precede us for 2,000 years were faithful, why would we walk away from such a great joy of teaching somebody to trust Christ through the scriptures? Why would we leave that behind? Why would we neglect so great a salvation? Why would we set ourselves adrift, Lord, and allow that to happen? Father, who? Who would you send us to? Who would you want us to encourage in Scripture through the Word of God that they too could subsequently reach more, so that more could be reached, so that more could be reached, and the nations around the world in the year 2016 and beyond can be affected, impacted with the gospel of Christ. Lord, use us, we pray. Amen. Have a great evening.